Willem Dafoe (‘Poor Things’) reveals how his father influenced his portrayal of Dr. Godwin Baxter: ‘My worlds are coming together’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
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Four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe had no reservations about joining the cast of director Yorgos Lanthimos‘ “Poor Things” alongside Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef. The film, which won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival in September, will be released by Searchlight Pictures on December 8. “I jumped on board happily,” he tells Gold Derby senior editor Denton Davidson. “I like the movie very much and it was a great experience.” Watch the full video interview above.
Dafoe plays Dr. Godwin Baxter, an unorthodox scientist who brings Bella Baxter (Stone) back to life after she’s been found unresponsive. In committing to any role, the actor states, “The director is very important. Do I want to do those things? Do I want to have that adventure? What do I think I will learn? How will this transform me? All those are in my head. I don’t think about characters so much because that sort of limits your imagination. You’re getting ahead of yourself. In the case of ‘Poor Things,’ there were lots of pleasures and lots of curiosities.”
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Growing up in Wisconsin, Dafoe was the son of a surgeon. “When Emma and Yorgos called me I was in my office in New York,” he recalls. “Behind me is a huge painting of my father. On the side is a big photograph of Marina Abramovic doing an autopsy on a nude woman. So, I’m taking that call. I do come from a medical family. I have grown up around labs and surgery because I worked as a janitor in my father’s clinic when I was young. So, my worlds are coming together.” Dafoe explains he could “draw from personal experience” to portray Dr. Baxter’s relationship with Bella.
The actor spent hours in the makeup chair to become the disfigured doctor. “You see yourself fade away and you see this other figure emerge,” he states. “Basically, you’re unrecognizable once that makeup is put on. It takes a while to get in and out. That means some crazy, early calls in the morning sometimes, but you’re all set to go when everyone comes in sleepy. It’s not a bad way to go. When you look in the mirror and you don’t see yourself, that really allows you to make the leap.”
Dafoe goes on to discuss how he bonded with the cast, his early years being inspired by “Pinocchio” and his first Oscar nomination for “Platoon” (1986).
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